In what appears to be one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, the legendary Manny Pacquiao was defeated by the Hornet Jeff Horn. The 29-year-old Australian boxer won during their fight on Saturday night, giving the Pride of the Filipinos his seventh loss. While Horn won the title, albeit controversial, the world is not entirely sold on the decision.

In a report from Sports Illustrated, many raced to call the Pacquiao-Horn fight rigged. Some say that Manny Pacquiao was robbed, referring to the judges’ unanimous decision as a “bogus decision.” As a matter of fact, professional athletes elsewhere in the world went to social media sites to air their dismay for the sport as a whole.

Clearly, this is a fight not worth remembering.

Celebrities react on Pacquiao-Horn fight

The former Los Angeles Lakers superstar and known close acquaintance with Manny Pacquiao, Kobe Bryant, shared a video on Twitter depicting a shocked reaction of rapper/actor Ice Cube. He captioned the tweet with the hashtag #PacquiaoHorn. Obviously, the Black Mamba himself was stunned by the result of the fight. DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors also spoke of frustration, suggesting that “the sun must’ve been in the judges’ face.” The outrage continued on Twitter as seen below:

On the official Twitter page of ESPN, the final punch statistics favored the Filipino fighter Manny Pacquiao.

He gave Jeff Horn around 35 punches on each side of the body, while landing 62 and 86 punches on each cheek. Horn’s number, on the other hand, were miles away. Other reports even suggest that Pacquiao landed more punches that Horn in at least 11 of the 12 rounds. Calling the decision unanimous was indeed a bit of a stretch.

Pacquiao wants a rematch

Manny Pacquiao aired his opinion and said that he, too, thought he defeated Jeff Horn. Unfortunately, the decision was made and Horn acquired the WBO welterweight title.

Pacquiao nonetheless confirmed that he will exercise his rematch clause, allowing him to go after Horn for a rematch. He planned to have it done later this year in Australia, though some reports believe it will be in Manila, Philippines.

Many doubted Manny Pacquiao’s capability in the ring, considering he is past his prime. He might have not been as lethal as he was before, but his fight against Horn was still remarkable. It should be noted that this is the second controversial fight the Filipino boxer faced in his entire career, with his fight against Timothy Bradley being the first. While some would also call his fight against Floyd Mayweather rigged, that is a story on a difference scale.
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